


Red Lipstick

by America Coulson (Nilipari)



Series: The America Coulson Adventures [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Inspired By Tumblr, Inspired by Roleplay/Roleplay Adaptation, Original Character(s), Random idea based off of an original character of mine and a tumblr post., Roleplay Based Character, Twitter Roleplay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-05 13:22:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3121745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nilipari/pseuds/America%20Coulson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky Barnes knew everyone at SHIELD. Well… Almost everyone. And then he sees someone he's never seen before - one of SHIELD's best kept secrets. And he just has to get to know her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just A Name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bucky Barnes knew everyone at SHIELD. Well… Almost everyone. He’d taken to people-watching the hallways of SHIELD, just lingering around. He was always amused by the slight skittishness of some of the other SHIELD employees making a wide berth around him when they spotted him. It was as if they were afraid he would strike at any moment.

It had been almost two years since he was captured by SHIELD. His first year had been absolute hell, trying to break away from the Winter Soldier programming – he wasn’t comfortable talking about or thinking about any of it just yet - but lately, things had been better. He had his own place now. Granted, it was _in_ SHIELD itself, but it was his own private apartment and Natasha had personally combed the place for surveillance of any sort.  
None.  
He was allowed to do what he wanted, he was free to roam, but SHIELD wanted to keep him close to home – just in case.

He never really felt the point in going back to his apartment because of this. Plus, it always seemed that someone always wanted to talk to him, even after he’d been dismissed for the day. So Bucky lingered around SHIELD. He’d done so for about two months, lingering in the halls every day, just watching people walk past him. He observed them, got to know a face and their habits, but never their name.

Knowing names was dangerous for him.

Bucky was honestly scared that the Winter Soldier would come back, despite having kept a lid on him all year long so far.

 

He was early for his therapy appointment today for no reason in particular. And he didn’t want to show up too early, so he lingered in the shadows of the closest busy hallway.

And that’s when he saw her, red hair and unknown face. He’d never seen her before, but the first thing he noticed was that she moved gracefully. Her red hair and her walk reminded him of Natasha, but… somehow  _better_.

All he could do was stare as she walked down the hallway, then disappeared around the corner, and Bucky went on with his day after that.

 

…Until she showed up at the coffee shop nearest to SHIELD. Bucky liked relaxing there sometimes with a cup of coffee while he indulged in quietly doing even more people-watching.

And then the door had jingled charmingly and the redhead had walked in with a man in a suit who Bucky _knew_ wasn’t SHIELD, but was clearly somewhat familiar with loading a casual sounding conversation full of intel. That was twice in one day that Bucky had seen this woman. Bucky’s attention zoned in on them. What was he? An informant? An agent from another company? Someone she was trying to take down?

He watched as the two of them chatted. To anyone else in the world they would have looked like a couple on a cute, casual coffee date, despite the massive interchange of information that occurred over the duration of the conversation. Bucky watched as she played with a lock of her red hair as she listened to the other man, the way her lips were almost the same shade of red as her hair and all it did was call all of his attention to her gorgeous hazel eyes. He was convinced that she was flirting with the man, trying to get him to like her by swapping inconsequential SHIELD secrets so that she could later take the man down and kick his ass. She seemed like the type of person who was fierce and fiery when you least expected it, but it was hard to get all that much of a read on her with her painted face. Regular makeup normally told Bucky something about a woman, but this redhead’s face was entirely painted, and made to look natural too. It was a mask that hid who she was underneath it all.

 

The man left without even offering to walk Redhead home, to Bucky’s disapproval. Bucky got up, going over to the counter to ask if he could get another coffee, but his eyes never really left the girl.

Her red lipstick had come off on the coffee mug she’d been sipping her frothy drink from, revealing light pink lips underneath all the paint. The woman had clearly noticed too, frowning at how much had come off on the cup as she finished her drink. He watched as she pulled out a compact and her tube of lipstick and touched up the no-longer-red part of her lips. The careful, precise movements of her fingers as she filled her lips back in - like she couldn’t let even a little bit of the woman underneath show.

There was something so tragic in the way she put on her lipstick. The image of her like this would likely haunt him for days. He wanted to know who she was and what she was hiding.

Finally, Redhead was done with fixing her appearance and turned in her seat, her eyes immediately locking on Bucky’s as some hint of recognition appeared in her eyes. Bucky took this as his cue, walking over with another cup of coffee.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

The woman’s snort made him grin. He liked her already.

“It’s not polite to stare, you know.” She told him.

“I couldn’t help it.” Bucky shrugged, “You kinda command attention in a room. I wasn’t the only one looking.”

Her patience was wearing thin. Bucky could tell in the way she was pressing her lips together. It seemed like she knew him, but not what he was trying to do. “What do you want, Mr. Barnes?” She said quietly.

“A name. That’s all. Your name.”

“Call me Meri.” She replied, “Excuse me.”

And with that, she stood and she was gone.

Bucky spent the next week walking around in nearby shopping malls looking for a scarf that was the same colour as her lipstick.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeeep my first fic on AO3! Hi guys! See the end of Chapter 2 for notes. Don't want to give anything away too soon!


	2. Flag

America Coulson had never been quite sure what her opinion on Bucky “Winter” Barnes was. When the Winter Soldier had first been brought in, she had been ordered to keep well away from where he was being detained. America, the daughter of Phil Coulson and a newly-minted agent of Coulson’s rebuilt SHIELD at the time, was considered far too valuable an asset to risk the Winter Soldier knowing about and reporting back to HYDRA.

And so America had kept away. Her work was in an entirely different section of the large building in any case. All she ever saw of the man was photos and video footage.

Her father worked with Bucky, but she didn’t. She did her own ops like a one-woman show. One of the most useful-but-frustrating things about being America Coulson was that her true identity was a secret to almost all of SHIELD. Most people knew she was a SHIELD agent, but only the Avengers and another handful knew her father was Phil Coulson. Working solo was tiresome, but easier in some ways.

America had never expected that she’d run into Bucky Barnes while she was working on one of her solo missions. She’d brought the man she was trying to get information from close to SHIELD’s disguised headquarters, just in case something went sideways, figuring most other people wouldn’t notice an average-looking couple having coffee. That is, until she’d turned and caught Bucky Barnes staring at her and her heart had started to pound. It wasn’t that she wasn’t allowed to be near Bucky anymore – that restriction had come off when Bucky became a backup member of The Avengers and proved himself stable and trustworthy – but the way he was looking at her.  
America had always had men look her up and down, but not many had ever looked like he could see past her covers and into her soul. It had been an oddly thrilling moment that she’d ended quickly, expecting that it was the last she’d see of him.

It wasn’t.

A few days later she was walking through the halls of SHIELD again and she felt like she was being watched, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. America had turned, only to see that Bucky had just stepped out of a meeting at that moment, coffee mug in hand, and he’d paused to watch her walk past him. He had a red scarf on that, oddly enough, reminded her of her favourite red lipstick, the one she’d worn in the coffee shop. In fact, she was wearing it again today. America spared Bucky a fleeting glance and a ghost of a smile before turning and walking away.

 

 

 

The next time they met was at an Avengers meeting. America’s efforts with the man whose confidence she’d been trying to gain in the coffee shop had finally shown America what she wanted to see, and the size of the problem she had uncovered was officially too big for a one-woman show to handle. So she called for help from The Avengers.

America had submitted her files to Coulson, and he’d made the call that brought the entire team into the conference room where Coulson explained the situation. The entire set up and situation was fairly straightforward. Coulson saw this as an “in-and-out” operation: Go in, give them hell, take over, and leave with the situation quietly under control.

“We’ve got our hands full with this one, team,” he’d told them all, “It’s a huge operation to take down but I know The Avengers can do it. There is one slightly more complicated detail, however…”

America spoke up. “I traced operations back to Paris and Sydney, alongside Chicago. This organisation is really good at compartmentalisation. It looks like there’s one major decision maker at each location that knows all of the organisation’s secrets, but other than that, each employee of this organisation has a very limited idea of what the big picture is. Which means that if we don’t catch those key decision makers, we risk screwing this up. /And/ if we don’t simultaneously take down the office in Paris and Sydney along with Chicago, we might tip either location off. They’re in constant contact.”

The entire conference room clearly didn’t like the sounds of this and America couldn’t blame them.

“It’s gonna be all hands on deck, people. Thor, and Stark, you’re staying here to help take down their main site in Chicago with me. Banner, Cap, and Barton will be in Sydney, and I’m working on asking JARVIS to be handler for this mission. As an automated AI, he’ll be more useful at monitoring our international progress and reporting to us faster. Flag, Barnes, you two are going to Paris with Tasha.”

Stark had made a distinct choking sound at the idea of his AI being the handler of this mission, immediately protesting about how on earth Coulson was going “ask” his AI, but Bucky was too busy processing that he was going to Paris with Tasha and…wait. _Flag_? Who the hell was Flag? Then he saw Meri nod at Coulson’s words and look at Bucky, then Natasha, and it finally clicked. For whatever reason, Meri, the girl from the coffee shop mission, was known as Flag. Okay, then.  
Still, the idea of going to Paris with Meri the Flag and Natasha sounded more like fun than work, and he certainly wasn’t going to complain about getting an opportunity to get to know Meri better.  
…Until Natasha shot him an unexpected look that clearly said ‘no funny business’. Apparently, Natasha liked the younger redhead and kept an eye on her. Huh.

How was it that he’d never heard of Meri or seen her before? And yet here she was, clearly a close friend and ally of The Avengers. Something didn’t add up.  
Bucky lingered around after the meeting, wanting a word with his new teammate.

“So. Teammates. I didn’t know you were an Avenger, too.” He said casually as he approached her.

Meri looked up at him and smiled. “Oh no, I’m not. Not officially. I’m family, so to speak.”

Another voice interrupted them. “America, I just need to deal with something really quickly before we go for lunch, okay?” Agent Coulson walked over, placing a hand on her shoulder for her attention.

This was getting ridiculous. Now she was _America_? She was Meri, AKA--- Oh. _OH_. His realisation, combined with America’s cheerful little ‘No problem, dad!’ put all the pieces of the puzzle together in his head, and he smirked at the woman in front of him. Agent Coulson, fanboy extraordinaire, had named his _kid_ after his hero _._  This. Was. _Hilarious_.

“America?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you serious? I knew Phil was a fan, but…”

America blushed and chuckled. “I like my name, so hush.”

Bucky just gave her a crooked grin and a salute. “Whatever you say, _America_.”

“What a good soldier you are.”

“I’m a commando, ma’am.” Bucky replied. He preferred thinking of his time as a Howling Commando than his time as a soldier.

“Hmm.” America smiled, “We’ll see. Talk to you later, Bucky.”

  
…Damn, she was feisty and he loved it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!  
> So America Coulson, who you just met, is actually a character I've been roleplaying on Twitter for about a year now. You can find her at www.twitter.com/AmericaCoulson if you'd like to know more. But of course, even roleplay has it's limits and I suddenly had an idea for another ship and thought....Why not just write a fic? So that's what I did and I stand before you all humbly.
> 
> I just thought it would be entertaining to see what would happen if a girl named America, daughter of the biggest Captain America fanboy to ever exist, met Captain America’s right hand man.  
> And potentially dated him, too. We’ll have to wait and see! Your comments and kudos mean everything to me. Hope you all like it! <3


	3. A Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky Barnes has met Agent Coulson's daughter.  
> Natasha feels it's important to warn him.

Twenty four hours later, Bucky Barnes was in Paris with the two most kickass women he’d ever met – Natasha Romanoff and America (He'd had to ask to get it straight - Meri was her nickname and Flag was her codename - she had as many other names as Natasha, in his opinion) Coulson, and checked into a simple, cheap hotel. The ladies were sharing a room, and Bucky had one for himself.  
There was no point in unpacking, they were only here lying low for a couple of hours at most. The strike was scheduled for some time past midnight, synchronised with the operations in Sydney and New York with JARVIS relaying information (yeah, somehow Coulson had won that one) to each of the teams.

He’s lying back on the bed when suddenly there’s a knock at the door that Bucky answers after checking to see who it is through the peephole.

“…'Tasha.”

“Hey Bucky.” She smiled slightly as she stepped inside and made herself comfortable in a chair.

“What can I do for you?” He says as he shuts the door and takes a seat on his bed.

“Don’t go near her.”

“…What?”

Natasha crossed her arms in annoyance. “ _America_. Let’s not play games, you and I both know you’re a flirt and a charmer. But she’s my protégé and I’m not letting her get distracted. As tough as she looks, she’s extremely vulnerable on the inside.”

Bucky blinks, thinking his head might have just imploded a little. “Wait. Back up – she’s your _protégé_? And who said I’m going to flirt with her?”

“Uhh, let’s see… How about the way you’ve been looking at her since we first got on the jet and started this mission?”

“I…” Bucky gives up on words and scratches the back of his head before trying again. “….She’s your protégé?”

Natasha nodded, taking a deep breath. “It’s… complicated. Back when The Avengers was first formed, Agent Coulson gave his life to help us win the Battle of New York. And before you ask, Fury dragged his ass back from the grave and I’m not going to go into the details. Neither is _she_ , by the way, so don't ask.  
“Anyways, Coulson was secretly a single father. Only Fury knew about the girl. She’s been somewhat isolated her whole life, spending her days training whenever she wasn’t at school. And she’s damn good, Bucky. Damn good. But when Coulson died, suddenly America became Fury’s responsibility. One day he asked me to do him a favour and drop something off at the Coulson household. I figured it was for Coulson’s wife or something, but it turned out that there’s never been a mother or a wife, just a cellist girlfriend out in Portland and a lonely daughter to whom I was delivering a Black Widow poster for her bedroom.”

“A poster?” Bucky raised an eyebrow.

Natasha shrugged. “Fury told me it was an attempt to make good publicity after the events in New York. I don’t know. He might have lied to make the poster for the girl. I’d never seen a girl so happy with a poster. Although that might also have been because I delivered it. I even signed it for her.” Natasha shook her head at the memory, a hint of a smile on her face.

“It turns out that Coulson told her stories about me, Hill, Hawkeye, and everyone at SHIELD while she was growing up. And somewhere along the way, I became her role model, and her goal was to meet me someday. I think it has something to do with the fact that she’s never had a mother, so she instinctually latched on to what seemed like a mother-figure to her.”

“You’re kidding me, Tasha.” Bucky says quietly.

“Nope. I know, it’s… insane. But I just… You should have seen the look in her eyes when I met her. She was star-struck. I spent a whole day with her and she didn’t mind telling me a thing about her and by the end of it, I realised that I wouldn’t forgive myself if I just left her there. Especially once I’d gotten to know her. So in the end we signed her up for SHIELD and I trained her. I’m her S.O.. Not that she needed my help. But she still looks at me like I’m the most incredible person to walk this earth and comes to me for help with all kinds of things, so I do my best for her. It’s weird but cool.”

  
Bucky just sits there silently, processing the entire story.

“…So basically, what I’m saying, Bucky, is don’t flirt with her. She’ll fall too easy.” Natasha finishes.

Bucky failed to see how, especially if she was Natasha’s protégé. “You didn’t teach her how to deal with men?”

“Oh no, she can deal with most men perfectly fine.”

Bucky frowned. “Okay, Natasha, you’re not making sense. There’s something you’re not telling me.”

Natasha sighed. “I know. I… It’s a conflict of interest. Just… Trust me, okay? Avoid her.”

And then Natasha left, leaving Bucky to his confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! Yay! Your feedback really helps fuel me to write, so thank you! <3  
> I updated the last two chapters - there were some glaring errors that were bugging me to death, but nothing major has changed. Hope you're enjoying the story!


	4. Ah, Paris...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of 2 of the Paris mission.

[ ](http://tinypic.com?ref=zgyb)

 

 

Paris has always been known as the city of love.

Right now, however, it is the city of mayhem.

 

After Natasha left, Bucky had put his confusion aside and got ready for their mission. It was simple, really - quietly get in position, bust down the door, take out the people involved, and leave.

The Winter Soldier never had any complaints or questions about ending a life. Bucky, however....

To him it felt wrong, unless it was justified. And maybe tonight, it was a justified kill. He didn't know. He knew so little about the actual organization other than the usual 'bad people who hurt citizens' spiel. When he'd asked Steve before they left, Steve classified it as "a definite threat". Which meant Steve wouldn't be trying to save the people they were ambushing.

So maybe that would help Bucky feel less guilty - a guilt that washed over him every time he was faced with life and death. Not that he'd had any control over his existence as Winter.

 

The way it had gone down was pretty straightforward. JARVIS had counted down to the moment on comms so that all three teams attacked at the same time. Bucky broke down the door, Natasha went in first, followed by America (Flag, Meri, whatever…) and Bucky. They'd caught the enemy by surprise as planned, although these ones were quick to respond, drawing their guns and taking aim at the three intruders. In his periphery was a flash of red, free flowing hair as America returned fire, still walking forward as she did, all of her shots either deadly or debilitating as they made their way through the building. The only ones, he noticed, who got hurt were the ones who attacked first. Anyone who willingly put their hands up were quickly and silently rounded up, hands zip-stripped together so that they couldn't escape. Apparently, America had a moral code that she followed whenever she could. It was a small thing that made Bucky feel much better about the situation.

Maybe that's where they'd gone wrong. Maybe they should have killed them all, because it wasn't long before the sounds of sirens filled the air.

"JARVIS!" Natasha barked. "Please tell me the dispatch came from you?!" 

[Negative, Agent Romanoff. Those police are unaccounted for and I suspect they're here to arrest you, rather than the people we have stopped.] JARVIS replied calmly.

Natasha cursed violently in Russian.

"Leave them here, these people are of no use to us and I took the main target out already.” Natasha told them, pressing something into Bucky’s hands. “I need to finish the system wipe. I’ll catch up with you two later.”

"But Natasha--!" America protested, silenced by a glance from her mentor.

"'Merica, she's got this." Bucky realises, nodding at Natasha when she turned her gaze on him. He knew Tasha’s methods. She’d be alright – she usually was. "Best thing we can do now is act as a distraction."

America looked between them and finally nodded.

"JARVIS, new plan..." Natasha's voice faded as she ran back to her work and America and Bucky proceeded to a window.

Bucky took aim at the building on the opposite site of the street with the gun Tasha had given him, and fired. A line of wire shot out, gripping onto the wall on the other side.

"I feel like I'm in Mulan." America muttered casually.

" _What?_ " Bucky frowned at her, not getting the reference.

"Nevermind. See you on the other side." America pulled her belt off, looped it around the wire, and held on tight as she ziplined down the wire, mercifully unseen by the police.

Bucky wasn't so lucky. As he zipped across he was shot at, America returning fire from a balcony of the building she was on. As soon as Bucky's feet hit the ground they ran.

 

 

Bucky lost count of how long they had been running for, playing cat and mouse with the French police force – they didn’t know if the entire force was against them, or if there were simply a few rogue, bad eggs chasing them, but they didn’t dare risk it. On and on they ran, stopping periodically to check briefly and see if anyone was on their tail. They had to keep the ruse up for a little while before they could disappear completely.

Bucky almost didn’t see America come to a dead stop in front of him and he ran straight into her, his metal arm immediately grabbing onto a nearby wall to keep them anchored vertically, while his other wrapped around her to steady her. That’s when he noticed the panic in America’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Bucky whispers, the words a breathless pant.

“Flashlight… up ahead...” America gasps.

Bucky looked up – sure enough, up ahead there was someone with a flashlight walking around, and they weren’t even certain if they’d shaken off the last flashlight-carrying members of the police force. Turning around and going back was not an option.

“…Shit.” He muttered.

America glanced around before dragging Bucky with her down a foul-smelling alley, her grip on him ensuring that he kept close to her, his head close to hers.

“I’ve got a plan.” She whispers. “But you’re going to have to really trust me.”

Bucky simply nodded as she stopped them at the end of the alley and backed herself up against a wall before pulling Bucky close, slipping her arms around his neck and wrapping her legs around his waist. Bucky braced himself against the wall, hands on either side of America as he started to get the picture. The two of them stayed like that, panting like dogs from the running while America watched for any sign.

Slowly, the sound of footsteps grew louder, a flicker of the light of the flashlight bouncing off of some shiny surface.

And that was precisely the moment America threw her head back and cried out, “Oh, Jean-Paul! Oh, oui! Oui! Comme ça! Comme ça! Oh, Jean-Paul, oui je t’aime!” Her legs tightened around Bucky’s waist and he instinctually rocked with her, the two of them vaguely going through the motions of passionate lovemaking.

At the back of his mind Bucky supposed he should have found this pretty hot. Because America was honestly gorgeous, and here she was, wrapped around him and moaning like her life depended on it. Right now, he should be enjoying this – hell, if he was Stark, he’d probably take full advantage of the moment – but right now, his heart is pounding loudly, and all he wants is to not get caught. It kind of takes the sexiness out of the moment. And besides, he’s _not_ Stark, he’s Bucky. The old fashioned version of a ladies man.  
Not that he’d been doing much flirting lately. He was much more reserved – being a victim of HYDRA tends to do that to people.

 

 

As soon as America had cried out, the sound of footsteps had increased in pace as the flashlight-carrying officer hurried forward to investigate the commotion, realising as he reached the entrance of the alley that he’d come across two lovers, rather than two criminals. Nevertheless, he waved his flashlight around the alley a little – until the groan from the man called Jean-Paul made him change his mind. With a muttered curse, the man kept walking, and quickly, feeling awkward about the moment he’d almost interrupted. The woman clearly had a set of lungs on her, her cries seeming to bounce off the walls and follow him as he hastily left.

 

 

Meanwhile, America and Bucky kept up the trick for a little while longer, America’s head dropping onto Bucky’s shoulder as she whispered a countdown from one hundred before untangling herself from Bucky. The two of them looked at each other for a quiet moment before tiptoeing to the end of the alley and looking out, then looking at each other. 

“Jean-Paul? Really?” Bucky muttered.

“Oh, I’m sorry.  I didn’t realise you wanted to be Francois. Maybe next time.” She replied.

Bucky stares at America for a moment longer before they both burst into quiet laughter.

“I can’t believe we just did that. Holy shit, you were loud.” He snickered.

“Thanks.” She snorted, a giggle escaping her.

“No, but in all seriousness… That was close, and I’m glad you had that crazy idea. Now, how about we get out of here, huh?”

“Yes _please_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Yay another chapter! I know it's been a while since I updated - sorry, school keeps me busy. Good news, though: Today I'm posting two chapters and I've even done a little art for the fic! Let me know what you think. Your comments seriously help me a lot. <3


	5. Not a Rookie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of 2 of the Paris mission. Bucky learns about America.

 

Bucky and America retraced their footsteps, sticking close to one another as they did. At least this time they didn’t have to run.

“We’re not going back to Natasha, are we? We just got out of that mess, I don’t want to risk us going back in there and messing something up.” America said.

“Oh God, no.” Bucky replied quietly. “No, we’re going to the check-in point.”

America glanced at him confusedly. “But we don’t have a check-in point?”

“Oh I know. We don’t, but me and Tasha do.”

America is quiet, clearly waiting for him to elaborate.

“I’ve known Natasha for a long time, actually. We… Did missions together, at one point.  I know how she works, and she knows how I work. We always had a secret meetup point in case things ever went sideways. So we had one for this one as well.”

“Oh.” America frowned. “She never told me about any of this.”

“Well that’s because it’s a secret. No one was supposed to know about these places. Besides, she can’t just give that information out to a rookie.” He said.

He receives a snort in response. “I can assure you, I am no rookie.”

“No, you’re not, are you?” Bucky gives her a wry smile in response. “You’re too damn good to be a rookie. So. What are you, then?”

“I thought you already knew that: I’m Agent Coulson’s daughter.”

“ _So?_ ”

“So… I’ve been training since I was a kid. First, it was self defense and stuff to help me protect myself. Nursery rhymes that were easy ways of remembering what to do if a stranger ever tries to kidnap me… That kind of stuff. And then I got older and realised how important my training was. I realised how valuable it was and I started to push myself to go further and do better. I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason Natasha gave me a chance – because I already knew my stuff, and I already knew too much about SHIELD. Plus, I think she liked the fact that I asked her if she’d teach me her fighting style when I first met her.”

America smiled at the memory.

“Huh. Not a rookie at all, then, are we?” Bucky said.

“Nope. Just Coulson’s kid.”

“Well you’re pretty damn cool.”

And he meant it. From the little time they’d spent together while walking to the check-in point, it had become clear that America was as sweet as candy. The first time he’d seen her, she’d had her guard up and she’d seemed a lot like Natasha. Careful and defensive. The second time he’d met her, he realised she’d had a feisty, playful side to her. On this mission, he’d seen her fiery serious side. And now? Now, she was herself. Her true, friendly self with a big, bright smile. Clearly, they were both too tired to give a damn about anything but being friendly and getting out of here together, covers be damned.

 

It was a forty five minute walk to an empty parking lot where an average-looking van stood. Bucky knocked on the hood in a rhythmic fashion and a door on the side of the van opened.

“What took you so long?” Natasha said as she climbed out of the van.

“Nice to see you too, Tasha. Glad you survived.” Bucky replied sarcastically.

“Save the snark for the plane, you two. Let’s just go home.” America interrupted, walking past the two of them to ride shotgun in the van.

Natasha merely quirked a brow, shrugged a shoulder and hopped into the driver’s seat.

 

The drive to the airfield was quiet. Everyone was still on edge – it wasn’t over until they were safely airborne and out of France. Natasha was being guided by JARVIS to a deserted airfield where their quinjet awaited them. America had never been so glad to see it in her life.

And then, somewhere over the Atlantic Sea, America and Bucky looked at each other.

America giggled quietly.

Bucky snorted in response.

Natasha looked at them like they were crazy and set the jet on autopilot so that she could get a better look at the other two.

Bucky cracked first, with America following seconds later, the two of them clutching their stomachs as they laughed.

“What the hell?” Natasha said.

“Oh my God... Tasha…” Bucky wheezed.

“You always told me PDA makes people nervous, right?” America snickered.

“Yes, yes I did.” Natasha frowned.

America wiped a tear of mirth from her eyes. “We were cornered by a police officer. So we pretended to have sex.”

“I was Jean-Paul.” Bucky added, finding the matter hilarious. “And she was fucking _loud_. Oh my God, Natasha.”

“It doesn’t get any hotter than that, right?!” America howled.

And that seems to set them off laughing again. Natasha can’t help but laugh with them, finding their laughter even funnier than the story they were telling.

“Well that’s one hell of a take on the PDA method.” She snorted before turning her attention back to piloting the plane.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how in my tags I said this was kinda inspired by a Tumblr post? Well here is the Tumblr post!  
> <http://thefandomimagine.tumblr.com/post/100819318324/submitted-by-anonymous>


	6. Home Sweet SHIELD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> America and Bucky decide to make the most of the calm before the storm known as "the debrief".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Home.  Not a word Bucky would have thought he would have used to describe SHIELD, but that was before he’d left for this mission. Now, he was just glad to be back.

By the time they reached SHIELD, the Chicago team was already back and waiting, and all that was left now was to await the arrival of the Sydney team. They had crashed in the board room - Thor was snacking on food - probably PopTarts - while Coulson and Stark were relaxing in their seats, JARVIS’s logo present on the large screen in the room.  
No one looked like they’d had too much trouble. Or as much running.

 

“Did anyone else have a rogue police force come after them?” America asked wearily and collapsing into a chair.

“Nope.” Came the reply from Coulson, while the others looked up curiously. “No police force here. But we did have a lot of people to work our way through on the main site. Thought we’d lose the main target until Stark managed to find him. And then we rounded up the others and detained them. Sounds like Paris went sideways.”

“You could say that.”

“Any detainees?” Coulson said.

Natasha shook her head, answering before America could. “All dead. Major firefight as we went in.”

America glanced at Natasha, but she didn’t question her methods. Instead, America leaned forward in her seat and rested her head on her arms upon the table.

 

Coulson glanced at his watch. “JARVIS, how long until the Sydney Team gets here?”

[Another five hours, sir. Four and a half if we’re lucky.]

Coulson sighed.

“Well in that case,” Bucky said, “I’m going home. It’s only one flight of stairs up from here.” He shrugged. “Anyone who wants to crash on my couch is welcome to join. I’ll be back for debrief.”

There’s a round of murmured ‘thanks but no thanks’-ish replies from everyone other than America, who quietly stands and follows him out, rubbing an eye like a tired child as they make their way up the stairs and to an average looking door, the same as every other door in the hallway.

Bucky opens the door, letting America enter first.

“…Wow…” She says quietly, looking around.

Bucky’s apartment was surprisingly spacious, warm, and inviting. It was like something out of a magazine spread, although the slight bits of mess made it feel very… Bucky like. An empty beer bottle on the table, a T shirt on the floor of his bedroom, only just visible through a doorway from where she was standing.

“Yeah. Not bad at all, right? It’s the reason why I don’t mind too much. It’s less an apartment, more a one-level home. Only downside is living inside SHIELD itself like a prisoner.”

That last part made America glance at him apologetically, but Bucky waves a hand dismissively. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m dealing with it as best as I can. Anyways, make yourself at home. I don’t get visitors – you’re my first, technically. So…get comfy. I’ll grab you a blanket, too.”

“Thanks, Bucky.” America smiles, taking a seat on the couch.

 

By the time Bucky comes back with a blanket and a pillow America has taken her shoes and extra gear off, setting it all aside and folded neatly, leaving her in a plain black, SHIELD issued suit.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but… You’re an awful lot like Tasha. Is that intentional?”

America chuckles and accepts the blanket, snuggling under it despite being seated vertically. She pats the spot next to her for Bucky to join her. “In all honesty? Yes. I mean, I’ve had red hair since I was a kid, but I insisted that I wanted my suit to look like hers.” She giggles.

“So you’re like a….what’s the word…? Oh, right. A fangirl.” Bucky said.

“I know.” America chuckles. “I really am. My dad is obsessed with Captain America, and I've always dreamed of working with The Black Widow. Go figure. I’m just glad she doesn’t mind. Thanks for letting me nap on your couch, by the way. It’s a lot comfier than the conference room.”

“Ah, it’s no problem. I’m surprised more people didn’t take up the offer. I half expected Nat to get up and join us, since she doesn’t seem to trust me around you.”

America makes a quiet noise that sounds something like a mix between a huff and a snort. “Well for one, none of them had to run to save their damn hides, so screw ‘em. As for Natasha, I know why she worries, but I can’t give a damn right now about that either. I just want to sleep for a bit and mentally prepare for debriefing.”

Bucky holds back a yawn and nods. “I hear ya. Catch you in a couple hours.”

“Sleep well.” America smiles and gets settled on Bucky’s couch, watching him walk into his room before her eyes fall closed.


	7. The Debrief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The debrief goes just as wrong as the Paris mission did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five hours later, the Paris and Chicago teams were met with the Sydney team. America and Bucky walked into the room moments later, and then it was officially debriefing time.

 

JARVIS went first. [In summary, Avengers, the mission was a success. Congratulations.]

“Smooth as silk.” Tony added. “At least, Chicago was.”

“We caught the Sydney location completely off-guard. There was some exchange of gunfire, in which our main attempted to get away, but Barton caught up with him pretty quick.” Steve said.

“Paris went sideways,” Natasha said, “but it was handled.”

“Care to tell us a little more, Agent Romanoff?” Coulson said, leaning in attentively.

Natasha sighed. “They weren’t expecting us, but somehow, they called for backup in the short amount of time it took us to sweep the place. We could hear police sirens soon after. We went in with silencers on, and the return fire was minimal. I doubt the police would have responded to a noise complaint from some disgruntled neighbours that quickly, which means that this organisation had people in the police. Hopefully, this dismantling mission means they’ll no longer be a threat, but it might be good to keep an eye on all three cities for any kind of underground activity in reaction to this mission.”

Coulson nodded thoughtfully. “And how did you handle the situation?”

“I stayed on site to complete the assigned task while Flag and Barnes played cat and mouse throughout the city for the next few hours.” Natasha grimaced as she spoke America’s code name, and Bucky sympathised with her. It was a horrible codename. America looked rather grateful for her Supervisor’s dislike, too.

Natasha’s explanation had caught Captain America’s attention and he leaned in. “A few hours? Were they that good? Or was that the plan?”

“A bit of both, really. There was a close call involved.” Natasha replied.

Bucky watched as America gave Natasha an ‘are you kidding me’ look and Natasha just gave her a hint of a smile. Typical – give the Black Widow a girl to train, and not only does the woman get extra protective of her, but she sometimes throws the girl under the bus for amusements sake. 

“It was _handled_.” America says, emphasizing the last part. 

“And just how was this close call handled?” Steve frowned turning to Natasha, while Stark rolled his eyes.

“It was handled, Cap, so can we move on?” said Tony.

“No, Tony, if Cap wants all the details, that’s fine with me.” Natasha pursed her lips and quirked a brow at Cap challengingly.

 

Bucky frowned as he watched, noticing the sudden tension in the air radiating from Steve and Natasha, while America and Steve actively seemed to be avoiding each other’s gazes. What the hell…?

 

America sighs, and massages her temples as she speaks, preparing herself for the worst. “Barnes and I were almost cornered, but we were able to disguise ourselves in an alleyway. That’s it. That’s all there is to the close call. Some man waved his flashlight around and walked away, and we ran in the opposite direction.” 

And then, to America’s chagrin, Tony decides to get curious. “Disguised yourselves in an alleyway to hide from a flashlight? As what? Dumpsters?”

Tony is met with two steely poker faces and one shrug from Bucky.

“Uh, J, is there something we’re not being told here?”

[The only detail that Ms. Agent Coulson is not revealing is the method of disguise, Sir. I suspect she feels awkward admitting that her and Mr. Barnes pretended to be lovers to drive the enemy away.]

America covers her face with her hands while Tony falls off his chair laughing.

“WHAT?!” Coulson splutters.

Natasha leans in defensively. “It was a smart move, and as her S.O. I approve of their quick thinking, so you can sit down, Phil, and you can shut up, Stark. PDA makes people nervous, and they were running out of options. I trust that she wouldn't have done it if climbing or digging or any other option of going in any other direction was viable, and it _wasn't_.”

[I must second what Agent Romanoff is saying, Agent Coulson.] JARVIS adds.

Steve shifts uncomfortably in his seat, and Bucky decides to just avoid eye contact with everyone and work on memorising the grain of the wooden table.

Thor chuckles, thumping America on the back with a surprising amount of force - and she miraculously stays upright. “Well done, my young friend. We should commend her for using her charms. After all, do the people of Midgard not say that ‘All is fair in love and war’? Or is this merely a Midgardian metaphor?”

Barton knows better than to laugh at that, but he can’t help the massive grin on his face.

Ultimately, it’s Banner’s quiet throat clearing that catches everyone’s attention.

“Uhh, if we don’t mind, can we wrap this up now? It’s been a long day, and I’ve gotta leave for a conference tomorrow. Need my beauty sleep. You know what happens when I get grumpy, right?”

America makes a mental note to bake Banner a dozen blueberry muffins and glances at him gratefully.

 

Coulson sighs and gathers everyone’s attention. “Alright. Okay. We all did what we had to do, and in the end, it all ended well, right? I think that’s it for this debrief. Go home, people.”

Steve leaves the room so quickly that Bucky would have thought Steve had seen a ghost if he didn’t know better. The others were only slightly less hurried, and Steve is soon followed by Banner and Barton. Tony continues to chuckle as he leaves, and Natasha gives America a squeeze on the shoulder before she leaves and Bucky shuffles slowly to the door, lingering just outside to eavesdrop.

America gazes at Coulson expectantly and braces for what was likely going to come next.

“…What do you want me to do, Meri? Scold you? You’re a grown woman now, you did what you had to do, it’s over. You’re my daughter and I trust your decisions, even if I don’t like them. Now, shall we go home?”

America sighs in relief. “Thank you, Dad.”

 

Bucky sighs quietly and makes his way home, gazing at his empty couch before digging in his fridge for food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness, that was fun to write. Hope you had just as much fun reading it!


	8. A White Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers have their annual Christmas party, and Bucky finally gets to understand why there is so much tension between Steve and America.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bucky didn’t see America again for a long while after the Paris mission. And for that matter, he didn’t see Steve or Nat again for a while either. If Bucky didn’t know better, he would have thought the Avengers had all but forgotten him.

 

That is, until he received an invitation to the Avengers’ Annual Christmas Party hosted at Stark’s tower – a tower that he’d recently converted to the Avengers tower.

 

Bucky arrived on Christmas Eve dressed in a nice shirt and dark jeans, taking in the tower in awe. Inside, a very merry party was going on – the place was festooned in Christmas decorations, and a massive tree, while remixed Christmas songs new and old were playing, some with quite a catchy beat. The wine and drinks were flowing freely, and despite the modern setting, there was something about the warmth and happiness, the sheer joy of _Christmas_ , that reminded him of Christmases past.

Maybe Steve felt the same way, because he came over, clapped Bucky on the back and handed him a beer before the two rejoined the group that was observing a comical debate taking place between Thor, Stark, and Barton.

 

The party was intimate, but it felt right. Other than the actual Avengers team, the only people in attendance were Fury and Hill, Tony’s friend Rhodey, Pepper, Cap’s friend Sam, Bucky, and the Coulsons  - America and Phil. Bucky couldn’t help but admire how gorgeous America looked in her festive red dress. She flashes Bucky a smile when their eyes meet and he winks at her from across the room before Sam Wilson comes over to talk to him.

A few hours later, and even Bucky is feeling the effects of all the alcohol, a slow warmth radiating from inside him. It was quite pleasant, really. He hadn’t gotten buzzed in a while. And that’s when he spotted America, sitting by herself at Stark’s bar, laughing at Tony who was drunkenly mixing her a drink.

“You sure that’s what I ordered, Tony?” She teased. “Pretty sure you just threw in waaaay too much vodka.”

“Hey, it’s Christmas, Dollface. Besides, your S.O. used to be a Russian, so make her proud.” Tony grinned at her, leaning on the bar.

America grins, turning slightly in her seat to catch Natasha’s eye. “Za zdorovye!” She says, raising her glass and taking a sip as Natasha grins in approval. She makes a face as she swallows. “Jesus, Tony. My hangover tomorrow is gonna be all your fault, you hear me?”

Tony just laughs and moves on to refill everyone else’s glasses and Bucky takes it as his opportunity to slide into the seat next to America as she gazes thoughtfully into her concoction.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Bucky says.

“I was thinking about how fucking mental our mission in Paris was.” America glances up at him and chuckles. “Of all the things I’ve done, that was the most insane.”

Bucky is about to answer, when a very loud and triumphant whoop distracts the entire room and brings their attention to a displeased Natasha and Barton, clearly unamused by the drone covered in mistletoe that Tony is somehow managing to keep steady over their heads as he tries to convince them.

“Move it, or I shoot it.” Natasha says, but the slight amusement on Natasha’s face tells everyone that the threat is hollow.

“Aw, come on, Nat! It’s a Christmas tradition!” Tony whines like a child and Natasha eventually relents when Clint nudges her and the two share a brief kiss. Everyone cheers, and Tony zooms his drone over to where he and Pepper are standing so that he can give his girl a kiss too.

America watches from her seat, occasionally grabbing Bucky’s arm gently to keep herself upright whenever a fit of giggles overwhelmed her, like it did when Thor, fascinated by the drone, walked right under it and walked into Bruce Banner, who had been pretending to ignore the existence of the drone until now and immediately begins to protest. Bucky laughs right along with America at the antics that take place. It only ends when eventually Thor decides the Midgardian tradition is all in good fun and plants a brotherly kiss on Bruce’s cheek, making the room clap and cheer. The drone zips around the room some more for other unlikely kisses as Stark decides to try and kiss everyone in the room, and then suddenly the room goes quiet and Bucky looks up to see the mistle-drone right above him and America.

 

Oh boy.

 

“Oh dear!” America says in a sing-song voice with a giggle, pretending to be oblivious to the sudden tension in the room. “Whatever will I do?! Hmm…. Let’s see. Mr. Barnes? May I have this kiss?”

Her charisma is so infectious that Bucky plays right along. “Certainly, ma’am, I don’t see why not.”

And Bucky kisses America in front of everyone he’s ever known.

 

It’s not a very long kiss, though it is a very nice one. But if the room hadn’t been tense before, it definitely was now. He could practically feel Agent Coulson’s eyes burning holes into him, and Steve looked like Bucky had just said he’d willingly joined HYDRA. Tony Stark was too busy frowning at his controller and wondering how it had ended up above Bucky and America while Pepper chided him under her breath. It’s not until America laughs and claps her hands, like the whole ordeal was simply another part of a wonderful game that people start to shake themselves back to normalcy.

America turns back to her drink and Bucky watches as America downs the entire thing before giving Bucky another one of her bright smiles – expect this one was looking more dim than bright – and walking away.

 

Bucky decides that right about now felt like a good time to step onto the balcony for some fresh air. As soon as he does, however, he knows he’s not alone. 

“Unless you’re about to do a hell of a lot more explaining, go back inside, ‘Tasha.” He said with a growl, his back to her as he took in the view of the city.

Natasha joined him, standing next to him. “There was a reason I warned you to keep away from her, you know.”

“Natasha, if you’re trying to say ‘I told you so’, then so help me God, I will fight you right here on his balcony.” Bucky glared at her.

The Black Widow held her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I’m here to explain, Bucky, I swear.”

“Start talking.”

Natasha takes a breath and gathers her thoughts. “Steve didn’t have all that much time to adjust to the new world after he was defrosted. He woke up, found himself in the future, and not much more than forty eight hours later, he’s having to wade into the modern world of war. You see, Thor’s brother, Loki, decided to start war on earth. And so to protect the earth, Fury restarted the Avengers Initiative – a plan to bring all of us… ‘heroes’ together. Except we couldn’t get our act together. We were arguing, we were inefficient. We had no common purpose. And then it all went wrong when Loki murdered Agent Coulson with a scepter through the heart. Fury told us he was dead. After that, well… You know the rest of the story of the Battle of New York, but in the aftermath, America came to light. Like I said, I went to deliver a poster to her, and the rest was history.

“When Cap found out that his number one fan had left behind a daughter to fend for herself, he felt duty-bound to at least become friends with her. America was excelling at SHIELD training, and in her spare time, she was almost as much of an expert on Captain America as Coulson, and she helped him slowly get up to speed on the modern world. Soon enough, their friendship blossomed into a romance and America was now Captain America’s girlfriend. When the news broke, it boosted morale in SHIELD. Everyone thought it was ‘cute, perfect, and meant to be’. They were the perfect all-American couple. It never got that far, but I’m pretty sure Steve felt so responsible for America that he actually had a ring picked out for when it would be most appropriate to propose to her.”

 

Natasha pauses, shaking her head at the memories, while Bucky grips the railing a little tighter with his flesh hand. He could see it – America and Steve, going on random dates, or spending time together at SHIELD or going for a ride on Steve’s bike. The perfect couple. Steve had probably mourned the loss of being with Peggy of never quite going home, and America had been able to ease that pain, and Steve had done the same for her as she mourned her father. They’d found solace and comfort in each other.

 

“So… What went wrong?” He says.

 

“What went wrong,” Natasha replies, “is that Coulson came back from the dead. Fury administered something to Phil shortly after his death, and over the next few years, worked on bringing Coulson back from the dead. Fury clearly felt he was too valuable to let go of. Now, Fury hadn’t told anyone about the project, and the only other person who knew about the project was undergoing the treatments. So when it was a success, he called in America to reunite her with her father, to her absolute joy.

“One day, Steve discovered a file that America had left on her desk and learned all about the horrific experiments they’d done on Phil to bring him back. He thought America had known the whole time and had lied to him for his sympathy and Steve was so angry that he broke the whole thing off and refused to hear Meri’s side of things. They haven’t spoken since. It was an absolute mess. Steve still works with Phil, but they rarely speak about anything other than business. And Steve and America dance around each other, pretending they’re not hurting from the last time they argued.”

 

“Do they love each other?” There’s a rough edge to Bucky’s voice, but he tries to reign it in when Natasha notices his tone and raises a brow at him.

“I don’t know, to be honest. I don’t think so. I think it was simply an arrangement that they both made the most of. I mean, they’re both attractive, hardworking people that were all alone in the big wide world.” Natasha shrugs.  
“But this is why I told you to stay away from America. You’re very charming, Bucky, you always have been. You keep going like this and she’ll fall too easy. And Steve is your best friend – you two finally found closure over what happened back in the day, and now you’re gonna let a girl drive another wedge between the two of you? Can you imagine how Steve will feel?” 

“What about how _I_ feel?” Bucky says.

“How _do_ you feel, Barnes?” Natasha shoots back challengingly.

“Pissed off, honestly. I can’t believe Steve would be that stupid and let such an amazing woman go. I got to know her when we were walking to our check-in point, and she’s fantastic. Sweet as sugar and tough as nails.” He pushes off the railing and turns around to lean on it, watching the people still celebrating inside. Bucky’s gaze lands on America, who has been cornered once again by Stark. Tony is playfully flirting with America just to tease her and make her blush for his own amusement, now that Pepper is too drunk to mind. Natasha turns as well to see what’s caught the ex-Winter Soldier’s attention and she frowns at how captivated America is by whatever story Tony is telling her.

“Give him another minute and he’ll probably have that stupid drone flying again so he can steal a kiss from her.” Natasha huffs. “I taught her everything I knew, because you’d have to be blind to not notice a pretty face like that, and she needed to know when to protect herself from men and when to use her beauty to get things from them. And yet, she seems to always forget that she’s allowed to kick Stark’s ass when he’s being cheeky. Starstruck, I guess.” She pushes off from the railing and strides inside to whack Tony across the back of his head with her bare hand as she passes by, turning and blowing a kiss before she carries on walking to the bar to refill her drink. Tony just looks sheepish as America tries not to laugh at him.

 

Something white floats into Bucky’s periphery and he looks over his shoulder to see snow falling over New York. It’s an absolutely magical sight that Bucky hopes he never forgets. He steps back inside to announce that it was officially a “white Christmas”, and the whole room cheers as JARVIS switches the music to “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”. Everyone sings along, and some grab their dance partners. Bucky walks over to America and holds out a hand.

“May I, Miss Coulson?”

America’s gaze flutters nervously to Steve, but she places her hand in Bucky’s with confidence. To hell with Steve constantly making her uncomfortable.

Bucky leads America in a gentle waltz, the two of them singing along with the rest of the room, cheering and clapping at the end as the clock strikes two in the morning.

 

Fury stands, guiding a sleepy Agent Hill to her feet and helping her get her coat on. “Don’t you kids know,” he says to the room, “that if you stay up all night, Santa Claus won’t stop by and leave presents under your tree? In any case, I’m gonna drop Maria home. You all have a Merry Christmas!”

Everyone waves goodbye as Tony muses out loud. “Maybe I should be Santa Claus next year, and you can all sit on my lap!”

“In your dreams, Tony.” Natasha snorts as she kickstarts the clean-up process so that they can all go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, that was a long chapter. I hope you all are enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing this story! Thank you for the kudos - it's amazing how much it motivates me to keep going! <3


	9. Milestones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rest of Bucky’s winter holidays passed by quietly, and he didn’t mind that one bit. It was rather nice, being able to just take a break from everything and relax in his home for hours on end. It was also quite strange to have absolutely nothing to do. He wasn’t used to it, and the only visitor he had at one point was Natasha, who came with a pizza and a box set of some TV show.

Bucky figured the radio silence from Steve was a sign of his disapproval of Bucky taking an interest in America at the Christmas party, but Bucky really couldn’t help it. From the way she smiled to the way she worked in missions, Bucky found everything about America utterly unique and fascinating.

And luckily for him, America seemed to like working with him. Maybe that was why, over the next few months, whenever America needed another person for her missions, she would make a request for Bucky. 

He wondered what Natasha thought of all of this.

 

By the time summer rolled around, Bucky had been on a handful of missions all around the world with America, from Canada to Eastern Europe.

And he still hadn’t spoken to Steve, other than the times they passed each other in the hallways.

 

It was a warm Saturday afternoon when America knocked on Bucky’s door. He opened it curiously.

“Surprise! I’ve brought you some iced tea and a pasta dinner!” America chimed.

Bucky’s eyes widened at the unexpected basket of food and his visitor. “Hiya, Meri. What’s all this about?”

“Well, I figured I’d surprise you! We’ve officially been on twenty-five missions together, so let’s celebrate!”

Bucky just chuckled as he let America in. “Was this Natasha’s idea, by any chance?”

“No, it’s mine. I celebrated my first twenty-five missions with Natasha too. It seemed like a nice milestone since it’s the first quarter of a hundred.” America replied with a shrug. “It’s a celebration of teamwork, I guess. And then you can always celebrate for every quarter.”

“So who else have you celebrated with?” Bucky grins as he pulls out two plates and glasses.

“Well, of the Avengers – and keep in mind that these were all short missions, not deep undercover things – I’ve been on fifteen with Thor in which I kept him out of trouble and explained Midgard to him, twenty-five with The Hulk, six with Iron Man – they really don’t trust him to behave around me - a hundred and three with Natasha, because she’s my S.O.,  eighty-six with Hawkeye – of which the majority are from working with me and Nat, probably around seventy-five or so missions with my Dad and sixty with…” 

“…Captain America.” Bucky finished for her, noticing the way America’s face fell. “Hey, um, I would normally eat in the kitchen, but it’s too hot today. How about we settle in on the couch for a movie? It’s cooler in that room. I just got my request for Netflix approved, too. It’s pretty cool and easy to use.” 

America nods, perking up a bit. “Netflix sounds good.”

Bucky gave America the honours of picking out a movie and they ate as they watched an old Bond movie, making fun of the movie the entire time and finding it more funny than serious. But as the afternoon wore on, the heat showed no signs of stopping.

 

“I’m so sorry, but I’m absolutely dying right now,” Bucky grumbled as he took his shirt off, leaving him only in his undershirt.

America shrugged. “It’s fine, I don’t mind. SHIELD really didn’t think to give you an air conditioner, did they?”

“I put in a request form.” He said as he flopped back onto the couch.

“Good luck with that. If it doesn’t work, I’ll put one in for you. Sometimes it all just depends on who the request is from.”

“I’d really appreciate that, actually.” Bucky looks at her, but America’s attention is elsewhere – on his arm. Bucky realises that his undershirt leaves little to the imagination – and that the scars and mangled skin of his shoulder was clearly visible.

America hesitates. “…May I?”

“Go ahead. I don’t mind.” Bucky nods.

 

America shifts closer, her eyes full of curiosity as she takes a closer look, lightly running a finger first along his skin, then tracing a the line of a veiny scar that ended where the metal began – a point where he couldn’t feel anything, including Meri’s fingers. 

“Unbelievable,” America whispered. “I can’t wrap my head around how they even…” She shakes her head and Bucky understands enough to not fill in the blank. Instead, he shifts slightly and pulls his undershirt off so America can get a closer look.

After the scar that indicates where Bucky’s skin stops is another skin, so close to being realistic. America’s finger gently pokes that second skin in her inquisitive manner.

“It’s SHIELD technology,” Bucky tells her, “Once I started getting all the HYDRA brainwashing out of my system, I wanted nothing to do with HYDRA at all. I begged for SHIELD to do something. To get that metal arm with its red star off of me. They were able to uninstall it, after a few tries, and then they studied how it worked and built a better arm for me.”

America’s eyes widened. “So you went through the whole process all over again?”

Bucky nodded, his flesh hand moving to the place where skin and metal met, peeling back the false skin from shoulder to fingers until the whole thing comes off like an inside-out silicone covering. America just sat there, too amazed by the technology in front of her eyes to actually move.

“This new arm is better. The SHIELD doctors and scientists did their best to actually fix the nerve, muscle, and tissue damage that had been done. With this new hand, I can actually feel things. The skin helps with that. Acts like a…transmitter to the nerves. Without it, I feel less – which comes in handy sometimes when you’re punching through painful stuff.”

Bucky had spent a while coming to terms with himself, his identity, and his arm. When he was given an opportunity for something better, he worked twice as hard to make sure it would be a success. The new metal arm is shiny, and bears no logo or any other sort of name. It was made of a lighter, much more finely built metal. It looked superior in every way to the previous metal arm that America had seen in photos. She couldn’t help but reach out slowly and place her hand in his, marveling at the way Bucky’s cool metal fingers gently closed around hers, holding her hand as gently as though he was holding some delicate flower.

“That’s amazing.” She says. “Thank you, Bucky, for letting me see this.”

“No problem, Meri.” He smiles. “I know it’s pretty mind boggling. Sometimes I stop and place my real hand over my heart, just to make sure it’s still working, because I can’t believe it either.”

America places her hand on his heart – just to double check. “It’s a trooper. Not showing any signs of stopping.” She says with a playful smile.

Bucky just chuckles, letting America study his metal hand for a little longer until it’s time for her to go.


End file.
